Today, new processors from AMD come to us in their new form-factor, Socket 939. What benefits does the new dual-channel controller of the Athlon 64 bring to us and what’s so interesting about the Socket 939 platform? Find it out with us!

New Processors: Characteristics

I don’t want to be garrulous, so I just give you a table with the formal characteristics of the newly-announced processors: Athlon 64 3500+, Athlon 64 3700+, Athlon 64 3800+ and Athlon 64 FX-53.

Athlon 64 FX-53

Athlon 64 3800+

Athlon 64 3700+

Athlon 64 3500+

L1 Cache Size

64KB data + 64KB instruction = 128KB Total

L2 Cache Size

1MB (exclusive)

512KB (exclusive)

1MB (exclusive)

512KB (exclusive)

CPU Core Frequency

2.4GHz

2.4GHz

2.4GHz

2.2GHz

Memory

Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller

Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller

Integrated 64-bit wide memory controller

Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller

Types of Memory

DDR400, DDR333, DDR266, DDR200 SDRAM

HyperTransport Links

1

HyperTransport Spec

1GHz (x2, DDR)

1GHz (x2, DDR)

800MHz (x2, DDR)

1GHz (x2, DDR)

Packaging

939-pin organic micro-PGA

939-pin organic micro-PGA

754-pin organic micro-PGA

939-pin organic micro-PGA

Process Technology

130nm (.13-micron) Silicon on Insulator (SOI)

Approximate Transistor count

105.9 million

68.5 million

105.9 million

68.5 million

Approximate Die Size

193mm2

144mm2

193mm2

144mm2

Nominal Voltage

1.5 V

Max Thermal Power

89 W

Although the maximum thermal design power (TDP) for Socket 939 processors is set to 89W, like with Socket 754 CPUs, AMD demands a certain reserve from the mainboard makers, with a proposed TDP of 105W. It is expected that the heat dissipation of Socket 939 processors will grow up considerably with the launch of models on the 90nm tech process. Thus, it is quite possible that the future Athlon 64 will be as hot as the notorious Prescott-core Pentium 4.

Now let’s view the info about the Athlon 64 3800+ and the Athlon 64 3500+, which the CPU-Z utility provides:

The Socket 939 processors return a CPUID value which says they are based on the DH7-CG revision of the core. That is, this is the same CG core stepping that we described at length in our Athlon 64 FX-53 review. I was not at all surprised to meet this stepping once again: such cores are only capable of reaching a clock rate of 2.4GHz.

I should confess the Socket 939 modifications of the Athlon 64 and the Athlon 64 FX bring some confusion into the lines of AMD’s 64-bit processors. The market now is full of numerous models, quite different in their characteristics. In order to clear this mess up somewhat, I filled up the following table which lists the basic specs of all the members of the Athlon 64 series: